‘Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them’ premiered worldwide last weekend to the delight of Potter Heads.

The Harry Potter spin-off that is set in 1920s New York has already had huge box office success, taking a total of £15.3m over the weekend. The film has enjoyed the most profitable UK box office opening weekend of the year.

The film, written by JK Rowling, is set 70 years before the tales of Harry Potter and follows another English wizard and ‘Magizoologist’, namely Newt Scamander and his fantastic suitcase as they meander around New York City.

‘Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them’ wonderfully merges two dimensions, bringing together the nostalgia of the 1920s and the world of magic. Both these dimensions and the various beasts and creatures are brought to life through stunning digital effects.

The quirky yet strong cast created memorable scenes. Especially Oscar winner Eddie Redmayne brought his unique and captivating charm onscreen, which perfectly matched the nerdy character of Newt. However, the characters themselves seemed to lack in depth a little bit.

‘Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them’ is the first of a five-part series circling around the dark wizard Grindelwald – a name that is likely to ring bells among Harry Potter fans.

While there was only a minor focus on Grindelwald in this film, the ambiguous ending suggests the audience will be seeing more of him in the next four films.

A spokesperson for the British Medical Association said:”The BMA is opposed to mixed martial arts, cage fighting and boxing. This opposition is based on medical evidence that reveals the risk, not only of acute injury, but also of chronic brain damage which is sustained by those who survive a career in where they receive repeated blows to the head. These types of sport are sometimes defended on the grounds that children learn to work through their aggression with discipline and control. The BMA believes there are many other sports, such as athletics, swimming, judo and football, which require discipline but do not pose the same threat of brain injury.”

“It’s extremely dangerous and we feel that every time somebody takes part in a bout they’re risking their health. In New York this sport is banned, why are we not adopting a similar law in this country, because ultimately this is what we’re talking about peoples’ lives, peoples health and potentially life long disability.”

The sport, which infuses several forms of martial arts, including boxing, Brazilian jiu jistsu, amateur wrestling and kickboxing, has been at the centre of controversy for several years now. The British Medical Association first took umbrage with the sport in 2007, calling for it to be completely banned in the UK.

However, doubt has been cast over the findings of the British Medical Association. Safe MMA, a non-profit organisation made up of volunteer medical professionals with no vested interest in the sport, have claimed that there is no concrete proof that MMA is as dangerous as the BMA makes out. A Safe MMA spokesperson said:

“MMA is currently sanctioned across most states in America. Since the sport was officially formed in the US under unified rules as recently as 2001, there is simply not the medical data yet to draw any scientific conclusions about the real risks of the sport in comparison to other sports (including horse riding, rugby, boxing, climbing.) It is Safe MMA’s position that until we have a clear understanding of the risks that professional MMA fighters face for acute and chronic brain injuries, it is not our recommendation to target the sport in the media as significantly worse than other sports practised across the UK. Mixed martial arts needs to be looked at in the context of combat sports in general in this country, since MMA is a fusion of martial arts; some of which fall under the Olympic umbrella.”

Safe MMA say they will continue to work with promotions and fighters to ensure as safe an environment as possible. Safe MMA’s spokesperson said:

“We are putting effort into practically making the sport safer in partnership with sport promoters and competitors; and building an evidence base for the risks and benefits of the sport, which we believe should be the focus at this time. Safe MMA was set up was to establish exactly how often and severely Traumatic Brain Injuries as well as other injuries occurs in the sport.”